


Getaway Car

by WaitingtoBloom



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Feels, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28677750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaitingtoBloom/pseuds/WaitingtoBloom
Summary: Max learns that sometimes playing with fire gets you burned, and sometimes it teaches you how to stay alight.
Relationships: Kelly Piquet/Max Verstappen
Kudos: 4





	Getaway Car

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of...thoughts... about this relationship, but I was listening to Getaway Car by Taylor Swift and had to get this written down. I just got into F1 this year and this is my first fic here so feedback is appreciated :)

The low lighting of the hotel bar seemed brighter as it reflected off the amber liquid in his glass. He didn’t really care for the taste of whiskey but sometimes it was simply easier to order an Old Fashioned. Almost every bartender knew how to make one, no matter where he was in the world. And tonight he welcomed the burn in his throat. A feverish feeling had overtaken him, and the drink made it easier to ignore. He was only guaranteed a few nights in Italy before flying out to Turkey, and he wanted to make tonight the best of them. 

He probably should have heard her coming, heels clicking across the marble foyer. Instead it was the gentle squeeze of his shoulder that alerted him to her presence. 

“ _Un White Russian per favore_ ,” she said to the inquiring bartender as she slid into the seat right of him.

She was clearly amused by her playful jab if the smirk gracing her features was any indication, but he was happy to let it slide. After all, he knew she was feeling just as feverish as he was. 

“I’m sorry about the race,” was the first thing she said to him though. Gentle words contrasting her actions, her knees angling towards his, inching closer even across their separated bar stools. 

“Shit happens,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. And he meant it for the most part. There were still more races to go. 

“True,” she said, sipping some of the cream from her glass. “But knowing you, I’m surprised you didn’t fly out right away.” 

While he couldn’t deny that normally that would be the case, he was aware that she knew exactly why he had remained in the city longer than strictly necessary. 

“Well, I had an appointment that I just couldn’t miss,” Max said, deciding to give in to the mood she had set for the evening. 

“An appointment,” she said resting her chin on her palm, “it must have been awfully important to keep you here.” Her left hand made as if to touch his jean covered thigh, but she drew it back at the last second and simply flicked her blue eyes towards his. 

He was starting to regret the whiskey; his throat felt abnormally dry. 

When his words failed him he decided to fall back on his usual boldness instead. Breaching the space she had toyed with seconds earlier by grasping her left hand. 

“Important would be a fitting word I think,” he said as he traced the back of her palm with his thumb. 

They hadn’t put an exact label on these late night rendezvous yet, preferring to chase the fiery feelings instead of contemplating the logical issues. Now time had seemed to slow in the middle of this high-end but still highly public bar. Was this really the right time to analyze the legitimacy of their liaison? 

A slightly cold touch on his cheek interrupted his inner monologue. When he looked up he found Kelly’s twinkling eyes staring back into his. 

“I think important is a perfect word,” she said with the utmost sincerity. 

A monumental relief surged through the pressure he had unintentionally created. Suddenly, the bubble they had created wasn’t enough anymore. 

Max stood quickly, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. He dropped forty euros on the bartop, calling out a quick grazie to the bartender, before pulling Kelly up and away.

The coolness of the Italian night air was shocking as they exited the hotel, but it did well to calm the flush breaking out across his cheeks. 

Not wanting to forget his manners, he opened the passenger door of his company car for Kelly to duck into before walking around to get into the driver’s seat. 

An Italian radio DJ attempted to break their silence, but he quickly turned the radio all the way down. Important things had been said tonight and he needed a moment to think about them. 

Although he had no destination in mind, he desperately needed the drive to distract him. Maybe the roar of the engine would reignite some of the flames he had grown accustomed to, instead of these new waters he was wading in.

At the first red light, he looked over at her. The crimson painted her face in harlequin shapes, but the image didn’t seem odd against her apparent calm. He didn’t understand how she was handling this so easily. A girl he only knew as fiery was sitting in his passenger seat as the picture of serenity. 

Nevertheless, he had never been more thankful for her willingness to go along with his whims. 

He pulled her hand into his over the center console to assuage some of his own insecurities. She merely quirked her lips into a smile as he sped into the night. 

Guided by the moonlight, he drove until he found a nice place in the Italian hillside to pull off the road. 

With the car now shut off, the silence permeated even deeper than before. He had been certain of the way things were going, but now that he was alone with his thoughts he was questioning himself again. 

“So now that we’re um here,” Kelly started, “do you mind telling me what’s going through that head of yours?” Her smile normally made things seem so simple, but right now all it did was confuse him even more. 

“Are we doing the right thing?'' he asked, resolutely staring at the steering wheel in front of him. 

Her smile disappeared. “What do you mean by the right thing?” 

He let the weight of his head fall against the headrest of the seat before cutting his eyes to her. 

“You know what I mean.” 

A wrinkle worked its way between her brows as she pursed her lips back at him. 

“If you’re talking about taking a midnight drive the night before you have a flight to catch, then probably not,” she said. 

Max went to correct her line of thinking, but she just held up her hand. 

“I know you mean what are we doing, as in being together, but I didn’t think you were so stupid to ask a question like that.” 

That got his attention. 

“What do you mean...” he started but was this time cut off by plush lips gently pressing into his chapped ones. 

Parting their lips, Kelly rested her forehead on his before speaking. 

“Do I make you happy?” she asked. 

The puffs of air hitting his lips were distracting, but he didn’t need to think hard about her question. 

“Of course you do,” he said. 

He could feel her smile against his lips. 

“Then it must be the right thing right,” she said, like it could be so easy. 

“But people…” she silenced him with a kiss again. 

“If you have a legitimate concern about where this is going then that’s fine Max, but if your concern is what other people will say then I don’t want to hear it,” she said resolutely, putting some distance between their faces. 

Max took a second to think about what Kelly had just said. Sorting out his emotions had never been a strong suit of his, but if there was ever a moment for it, now was it. 

Was he scared of them becoming something more because it was new and different to the game they had been playing? No, that wasn’t exactly it. While their fling was certainly sudden and passionate, it had never been a game, that much he knew. So where do they go from here? He had grown so used to playing with fire, he didn’t know if their relationship could survive on just ashes. And what about the press? It was easy to hide their affairs with the way things currently were, but if they stepped into more serious territory then that would bring a hefty amount of outside judgement. Would a new relationship even survive a torrent like that? 

He looked at Kelly once more. Bathed in moonlight and patiently waiting for him to sort out the demons in his head, she had never looked more beautiful. 

“You’re right,” he finally decided, cupping her cheek in his palm. “I’ve never cared what people thought before, why start now.” 

Her million dollar smile returned as she mirrored his position. The warmth of her hand steadily seeping into his skin.

“We’ll face them together lion-heart,” she said. 

Sparking life into a new relationship. 

**Author's Note:**

> *Nothing in this fic depicts real events or is meant to harm real people*   
> I couldn't resist the White Russian joke lol   
> It's not the best thing I've ever written, but thank you for reading it and vibing with my copious fire references :)


End file.
